The Blog

Why is space so uncomfortable sometimes?

I had a profound experience in 2008… Perhaps you remember me mentioning it?

I lived in Nantes—the rainiest city in France. I’d spend my Sundays walking around the city alone, and I’ll never forget one day when I saw a man hit his wife, hard, across the face. She cried along with the baby in her arms, and I ran to find a police officer.

I never forgot that woman or that moment. I saw her pain when she locked eyes with me, and I wanted to do something about it…

But what strikes me the most about that memory is how uncomfortable it was to be alone after watching that… I made an audio about this.

I ran to my flat that evening, and no one was home. I felt tortured by the quiet, and so I called a friend on Skype… I just neededanything to break the noise in the house.

I then realized that I even had a hard time being alone when I felt sick with the flu. It was as though the prolonged silence would torture me. And I couldn’t help but wonder…

Why is space so uncomfortable sometimes? And why do we often try to fill the space with noise?

We all have that inspiring, independent friend who loves his or her alone time; the one who manages to enjoy their space. And I must admit, I love my “me time,” but I often hit a threshold where the space feels… Painful.